Type 1 Diabetes - Signs and Symptoms

In honor of Novemeber is National Diabetes Awareness Month, Naturally Sweet Sisters wanted to make sure that signs and symptom were posted on this blog.

As we head into the cold and flu season, we also will see a rise in the number of new cases of type 1 diabetes in children and adults.  (Yes, adults can also be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.)  Sadly, many new stories have started appearing on several websites.  This past week, we have met two new families within the local community.  Some families were lucky enough to get an early diagnosis but a few, had very ill loved ones with blood sugars over 1000. 

Unfortunately, type 1 diabetes remains a very quiet epidemic and does not receive the media and medical attention that it needs and deserves. 

Type 1 diabetes does not have to run in a family and can be diagnosed at any age.  Early onset symptoms often resemble cold and flu symptoms.  While there is no cure, identifying type 1 diabetes early can help to eliminate severe illness by starting insulin sooner and avoiding diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

In general, figuring out if your child or loved one has diabetes is a big game of Clue.  Your doctor may not even be aware of the possibility of diagnosing a very young child (like ours did not know).  In addition, catching diabetes early is often mistaken for just random hypoglycemia - a low blood sugar that comes and goes but is not life-threatening.

You can read our Naturally Sweet Sisters diagnosis stories here and here.

Type 1 diabetes can not be reversed and it's origin is unknown.  If your loved one is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, it is NOT because you caused it to happen.  Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the insulin-producing beta cells within the pancreas are gradually destroyed and eventually fail to produce insulin.  There is no cure but a variety of treatments using Manual Daily Injections (MDI) or insulin pumps to deliver synthetic insulin back into the body.

Perhaps you have stumbled across this blog for directions on what key signs and symptoms to look for in order to diagnosis your loved one.

Before answering that question,

If you are looking for answers, the one and only true answer is to make an appointment with your pediatrician, family doctor or endocrinologist and ask for a blood glucose test via a finger stick or a blood draw and a urinalysis to determine if sugar is spilling in your loved one's urine.

From the JDRF website: Knowing the warning signs for type 1 diabetes (medically known as diabetes mellitus) could save a life.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes (these may occur suddenly):
Extreme thirst Frequent urination Sudden vision changes Sugar in urine Fruity, sweet, or wine-like odor on breath	Increased appetite Sudden weight loss Drowsiness, lethargy Heavy, labored breathing Stupor, unconciousness

If you or someone you love exhibits one or more of these symptoms, call a doctor immediately or go directly to your nearest emergency room for further evaluation.

Do not delay and call your doctor today!

It's Christmas! (For a Pancreas Anyway)





I called Animas Corporation tech support last night at 4:47 p.m. E.S.T..





By 4:51 p.m. E.S.T., I was on hold with Johnson and Johnson (J&J) One Touch support.





In less than five minutes, J&J had guaranteed our youngest daughter a replacement meter/remote.

Around 10:00 a.m. E.S.T., UPS was at our door with a small brown box.

At 10:03 a.m. E.S.T., the new One Touch meter/remote was out of the box and the RF signal was syncronized to the pink Animas Ping insulin pump.

17 hours later and we are back to normal around here.

Merry Christmas to youngest daughter's pancreas.  Welcome to the family new Pumpy meter/remote.

And a HUGE thank you to Animas Corporation and J&J One Touch for keeping youngest daughter healthy and for keeping stress at a minimum during this time.  What a huge relief to know that with one simple phone call, we can resume our regularly scheduled kids first, diabetes second.

By the way, Animas Corp. and J&J One Touch did not pay me to say these nice things about them.  I just felt like sharing because positive customer service can be hard to find these days and it is nice to actually have a great experience.  Our technology beliefs are listed here.  You can also link to type 1 diabetes product we like on the Amazon ad at the bottom of the blog.  If you would like to discuss type 1 diabetes products, please visit our Naturally Sweet Sisters Facebook page to participate in discussion of what great customer service you might have received within the medical community.

Shattered, Shattered!

Courtesy of the Rolling Stones Shattered

Well it happened.

I taught my children lyrics to another really good song.

The Rolling Stones Shattered.

Tonight, after initially feeling a bit of frustration, we decided to download an I-Tune.

It all happened because youngest daughter's Pumpy meter/remote shattered.  You know what they say, if you get lemons, well, sing Shattered at the top of your lungs!

Did I mention that we are officially out of our pump warranty?

Sigh.  Yep. 
We aren't sure how the break happened and to be honest, it is a miracle that the meter/remote survived so many years without an accident happening before now. 

Our suspicion involves a backpack left outside of music class and a stampede of small children walking to the parent pick up location at the end of the day.

But that is just a hunch.

Now we will wait for insurance to kick out an approval for a new Pumpy- complete with an unshattered meter/remote and cross our fingers that this one survives for as long as the last one. 

And am I the only one who instantly had the Rolling Stones 'Shattered' playing through my head while looking at this picture?




RIP meter/remote.  Thank you for four long years of service.  We will miss you!